Description

This is a long moderate route with the 15th pitch being 5.12a. If you don't do the 15th pitch, it goes at 5.10b. I only did the first 14 pitches. We climbed with a single 60m rope and on the raps, we had the knot up against our belay devices multiple times. I recommend the 60m rope, a 70m would be an extra 10m * 14 * 2 = 280m of rope to manage. The rock is sharper the higher you go, until the 14th pitch...in shade and not as sharp. Here are the pitches as best I can remember:

All pitches are 80-100 feet long.

P1: 5.8 Climb pockets to a semi-hanging belay.

P2: 5.8 Climb pockets.

P3: 5.10b Some more pockets, but steeper and thinner. Some crimpers.

P4: 5.8 Jugalicious!!

P5: 5.9 Jugs to a fun roof.

P6: 5.10b Follow the fixed rope around the corner to a good belay stance. Climb carefully up left side of large spiny cactus. The crux comes about halfway.

P7: 5.9 Left angling face climbing with fixed quickdraws to aid in rapping down. Would recommend clipping your own draws to bolts on lead.

P8: 5.9 I led this one. I just remember it being fun. I think it went right and up through a crease in the steep wall on the right.

P9: 3rd Class. Follow fixed rope up for about 50 feet, then follow trail to right, then left as it winds around (140 feet?) to a nice belay stance in the shade.

P10: 5.10b After cooling off in the shade, climb up easy rock to first bolt, then do some 5.8 liebacking through 2 bolts, then pockets/jugs for a couple bolts, then pull through crux on sharp holds to a small stance at anchor.

P11: 5.9 Off the belay make some tight moves to right and up. This is a strong and continuous 5.9 pitch.

P12: 5.9 Less strenuous than the pitch before, but it pulls some vertical moves on jugs, but the jugs are starting to feel too sharp on my raw fingers! The belay is right near the ridgeline.

P13: 5.8 Climbs along the ridgeline on the sunny side up sharp rock to an awesome belay on the shady side. Did I mention there is glorious shade at this belay? There is a summit register of scraps of paper with names on it. Plenty of room here to unrope, drink, eat, cool off, chat, and take pictures.

P14: 5.9+ This pitch starts at a bolt on the far end of the lounge in the shade. Climb rock that is not as sharp on your hands. Do some fabulous stemming and some chimney stuff to gain the sunny ridgeline. Follow ridgeline to belay anchors.

P15: 5.12a I am not this good of a climber, and if I were, my fingers would be too raw, but I could see the closely spaced bolts running up to a cool top out point. I had my partner lower me back to the lounge area, because this belay stance was small.

Location

Hike past the tin shed and about 30 feet uphill. This is the long clean line left of Space Boyz.

Great route, I liked this one alot better than Spaceboyz, solid rock all the way up. The last 12a pitch is fun and worth doing, although the calcite? holds fell pretty sharp. I climbed it straight on the bolt line, with what I felt was the natural line and 12a felt pretty accurate.

Great route for a moderate (except last pitch, 12a/c)! The 10b's up higher felt stout - classic slabby lack of feet in veined/grooved sharp rock.

can easily link 1+2, 3+4, 5+6 possibly draggy due to first bolt on 6 around corner (worked for 20m of simul rope though), 7's a bit of an angling pitch but would link ok with 8 (both short). Walk thru garden, 9+10, 11+12 link nicely (belay top of 12 in the lounge is over the edge, could be slightly draggy and hard to hear, but extended anchors would lessen friction at belayer). didnt check 13+14 for link, we singled them.

Dont throw your rope down rapelling down 12-8, tons of cacti, stubborn trees and lots of angled sharp hungry crevaces. Dont make the mistake of rappelling to the ledge from top of 8 to mid 7 (i missed anchors a bit hidden on left), its just at the end of a 70m (can get safely off - theres no pro but its wide enough for safe standing - solved with 2nd rapper setting rope). 6 and lower you can more safely just toss rope. Simulraps to share rope payout/management admist cacti saved a ton of time (just get your communication right and tie end knots please!).

be super careful overtorquing on some of the giant hollow plates of rock esp on p4, p8, p10-12. Cant believe a couple of them are bolted. Lots of X'd rocks about.

I could not find the register at the 13th pitch there so we added a new one. It's a ziplock bag with a used tape roll in it. It's stashed in the crack at the left as soon as you reach the top of the pitch. It should be dated 1/14/16 if I remember correctly. Feel free to add whatever in the ziplock register.

climbed on May 29,2016. We did not go for the bonus pitches. luckily, its an over-cast day!!! We can easily link pitches with a 70mts rope. Use the rattlesnake ledge as a lunch stop and enjoy the canyon view while working on your snacks! You will love the view. While on the cactus trail pitch, use the rope to climb up and as soon as the rope ends, look right. You will see a trail. This trail goes up for 4-5 ft and moves left. Follow this trail till you end up into a wall. Look for the Cactus God and some goodies. Now look up (on your right) to see the first bolt! Climb on!!

Please be careful while rappelling down. High chances on missing the anchors. I dont think we were able to link pitches for rappells with a 70 mts rope.

Holds are sharper (real sharp!) on the upper pitches. But good holds every where!

We linked 1+2, 3+4, 5+6, 7+8, 9+10 and 11+12 with a 70 m rope and never used more than 20 draws. Linking 5+6 caused some pretty heavy rope drag but you're pulling on jugs all the way up P6, so it was ok. You could link the last two pitches but the belayer won't see the climber for the last (5.12) crux and there would probably be some annoying rope drag.

My notes are based on the pitches as described in the free topo (14 pitches total, not counting the scramble after P8 as a pitch itself).

Hands down the last two pitches are the best. For being a classic, I was not that impressed with the lower pitches. They were chossy and the 5.10 pitches weren't that great. More like one move of 5.10 then a jug haul.

However, if you're looking for a route to romp up and get high off the deck, the ease of this route makes a good choice for that. Jugs, jugs, jugs!

The last 12a pitch I thought was pretty spot on for the grade. I thought the natural line was slightly left of the bolt line that followes a couple of crimp rails. Super solid, fun, and EXPOSED climbing!